For some reason, Megumi wasn't the slightest bit surprised when Alice dragged her and Ryo to the kitchens to make sure her movie snacks were made exactly as she liked them. All the Nakiri staff, used to Alice's whims and eager to please their young Miss, had already finished preparations. Platters of tiny sandwiches and spears of fruit or cheese were arranged neatly on a table, ready for Alice to inspect.
"Lady Alice, everything you requested has been prepared." One of the chefs stepped forward with a plate full of samples that she eagerly accepted. A hum of delight left Alice as she tasted the selection of finger foods.
Megumi watched in awe as Alice conversed with the chef and changed some minute details that Megumi herself probably wouldn't have noticed. Alice was in her element making suggestions left and right, which Megumi realized was probably a result of her day to day sparring with Ryo and the chefs employed by the Nakiri family.
Megumi glanced at Ryo - who had fallen suspiciously quiet - next to her and was surprised to see him eyeing the platters arranged on the table with quite some intensity. She was even more surprised when Alice turned abruptly, holding up a toothpick with a tiny roll of tortilla, salmon and cream cheese to Megumi. "You have to try this, Megumi. Open wide!" Without waiting for a reply, Alice tipped the roll into Megumi's mouth. Alice's eyes gleamed with satisfaction when Megumi let out an identical sound of delight. "It's delicious!" She exclaimed.
"Here, Ryo-kun, you try one as well." Alice turned to her aide, who had managed to snag an entire plate of samples from the table and was munching away. Megumi tried not to laugh at the exasperated sigh that came from Alice.
"Alright, now that has been taken care of, we can move on to the media room." Alice led the way while telling Megumi about the new speakers that had just been installed a few weeks prior. "-so the sound quality is super crisp and it will feel like we are in there with the characters! It's always fun when they start screaming."
"Oh, I see." Megumi replied softly, while a nagging suspicion made its presence in the back of her mind.
After an endless series of turns and hallways the trio entered a room that was practically a home cinema. A giant flatscreen was mounted on one wall and surrounded by sleek speakers, no doubt designed to amplify the screaming Alice mentioned. Below was a wide media stand with a couple of consoles, remotes and controllers. A soft rug covered the floor all the way to the giant U-shaped couch that could easily seat ten people.
"Ryo-kun, you know the drill!" Alice chirped and made a beeline for the remotes. Ryo nodded and turned to Megumi. "Want to help out?" Not knowing what else to do, she agreed and followed him out of the room. They didn't walk very far, only to a closet down the hall that Ryo opened to reveal an abundance of blankets, pillows and throws.
Grabbing a large wicker basket from somewhere inside, he stuffed as many blankets into it as he could before handing it to Megumi, who raised her brows in question. Then he repeated the process and stuffed a basket full of pillows for himself. "That's how we watch movies." He explained upon noticing Megumi's inquisitive look.
Megumi saw an opportunity to tease Ryo and instantly seized it. "Are you sure you won't just fall back asleep?" She giggled at Ryo's flat look and mumbled response. "As if I would sleep during a movie." That being said, he didn't look sleepy at all. His nap earlier must have done wonders.
"Come on sassy-pants, let's go." Ryo gently rapped his knuckles against Megumi's head as he passed her, coaxing another giggle out of her. She obediently followed him back to the media room, where Alice had brought the screen to life and was muttering to herself as she pushed different buttons.
Ryo proceeded to dump all the pillows on the couch and grabbed a couple of blankets from Megumi's basket that he methodically placed down in the open space in front of the couch.
Wordlessly Megumi grabbed one end of the blanket that Ryo was currently unfolding and helped him spread it out on the floor. When he reached for the pillows and placed them with different intervals on the floor and the couch, she copied him and together they transformed the space inside the U into a cozy nest of pillows and blankets.
Ryo nodded, satisfied with their work, and claimed a seat on the floor where the couch formed a junction. Megumi considered sitting on the couch, but came to the conclusion that it would make more sense to sit next to her boyfriend, when they were all going to be paired off. From the way Ryo shifted to make room for her, she was right. Grabbing a pillow for her back, she sat down next to him.
Meanwhile Alice let out a triumphant 'Aha!' and started rapidly flipping through movie titles on the screen. Megumi had a sinking feeling that Alice had already chosen what movie they were watching and that it was going to be something with horror. She absolutely despised horror movies and wouldn't be able to relax for a minute if they watched something scary.
Maybe Alice is just browsing, she thought weakly, until she saw Alice deliberately select the horror section. Megumi felt her stomach churn and she grabbed hold of Ryo's sleeve, shooting him a pleading look and gesturing frantically to the screen. Ryo's brow quirked up when he caught on and he tilted his head to the side, thinking.
A trailer started playing on the screen and Megumi promptly turned her eyes away from the screen, her grip on Ryo's sleeve tightening. The ominous music made chills run down her spine and she had to physically stop herself from covering her ears once the narration began.
"Oh this one looks interesting," Alice muttered absently as she read the summary. Nodding, she switched to another title and repeated the process. A new trailer started playing and Megumi suddenly found the pattern on the blanket under her very interesting.
"How long until the others arrive, Miss?" Ryo asked, making Alice pause the trailer and look up at the wall clock. "Yukihira-kun and Hayama-kun should be arriving within the next ten minutes, and Erina should already be here. She must still be holed up in her office," she mused out loud and paused her perusal of movie titles. A frown came over her features, but it was quickly replaced by a gleeful expression.
"You two stay here, I'll go take a look." Alice decided and strode out of the room, leaving no room for discussion.
Ryo turned to Megumi with an amused smile on his face. "Are you by any chance bad with scary movies?" She fought the urge to wring her hands together and settled for nodding weakly. She didn't trust herself to speak, but finally let go of Ryo's sleeve.
"If the majority votes against horror, we'll watch something else, but Miss Alice loves horror and will probably try to convince the rest." Ryo informed her and leaned back against the bottom of the couch. "Well, if it gets too scary, you can just hold my hand." He added with a smirk. Megumi felt childish for being relieved at Ryo's offer.
"Thank you," she breathed and sank deeper in her seat. They hadn't even started the movie yet and she was already feeling jittery. She heard him letting out a huff of amusement, but didn't have it in her to be embarrassed. At least she wasn't watching it alone or at night, she consoled herself. Not that she would ever choose to watch a horror movie on her own, still it was nice that Ryo offered his support to ease her nerves.
"Just try to relax, the others aren't even here yet." Ryo suggested and pulled out his phone, allowing Megumi a chance to collect herself. She nodded bravely and did her best to calm down.
It wasn't much longer until they heard conversation and Alice's bubbling laughter coming from the hallway. They could hear Erina chiding her cousin and Souma laughing together with Alice, meaning Erina was probably being teased. Sure enough, when they piled into the room Erina's cheeks were tinged red and Alice was still snickering.
"Oh Tadokoro you're already here?" Souma waved energetically at her from the door. "Kurokiba, hey!" The redhead walked in and plopped down onto the couch, claiming one chaiselong.
"Hi," Megumi waved back with half as much energy, and Ryo gave Souma a curt nod. Erina's greeting was interrupted by her cousin who stepped in front of her, cutting her off.
"I was right, Erina had forgotten all about our plans and was buried in paperwork. Good thing Yukihira-kun was there to distract her, right?" Alice smiled mischievously as Erina cried out in indignation. "Alice!"
"Isn't it natural for her to catch up on paperwork when she is free?" Hayama's cool voice carried over from the door, making him the last to arrive and completing their party of six. Whatever Alice replied was drowned out by Megumi wondering why Hisako was absent, when she had been present yesterday. She made a mental note to ask Ryo later. It was unlike Hisako to be away from Erina's side for long and leave her to deal with paperwork on her own.
Greetings were quickly over and the occupants of the room paired off and got seated in preparation for the movie. They ended up sitting almost in one long row, with Souma on the far right, Erina next to him and Alice between her cousin and Hayama, while Ryo and Megumi remained seated on the floor, surrounded by pillows and blankets.
Exactly as Ryo had predicted, Alice was an advocate for the horror movie she had found while browsing. Surprisingly, Erina immediately jumped on board as did Souma who enjoyed thrillers himself. Hayama was indifferent but didn't suggest any alternatives, which left Megumi as the only one opposing. Ryo offered her a sympathetic pat on the head when the majority won, and handed her a paper bucket of popcorn similar to what you would find at the cinema. Megumi hadn't even noticed the staff from earlier rolling in a small cart with finger food and an assortment of movie snacks and drinks.
"Here you go, Ryo-kun, your usual." Alice chirped and passed him a large bucket of popcorn and a drink. "Thanks, Milady." Ryo leaned over Megumi and accepted his snacks, careful not to jostle her.
The rest of the snacks were quickly distributed amongst them and Megumi wearily eyed her own pile. There was no way she would be able to eat so much during a horror movie, so she picked out a couple of things and offered the rest to Ryo, who looked like Christmas had come early. Megumi took a deep breath and resigned herself to her fate for the next two-ish hours. She would manage somehow.
"Everyone ready?" Alice called out eagerly. At the responses she pressed a few buttons that started the movie.
The lights were dimmed and the screen came to life once again, eerie music already rolling out of the speakers. The plot followed the standard formula for scary movies involving spirits haunting houses, which made it reasonably predictable, but that meant nothing to Megumi, who was on high alert for jump scares from the get go. She had long since gotten used to the sound of her friends snacking or shifting in their seats, but she remained vigilant and glued her eyes to the screen. The first 20 minutes went by without incident, but she held her breath at the first signs of a scare.
Megumi had a system figured out for how to deal with horror movies. When she anticipated a scare, she covered her ears and squinted to get through the scene. Closing her eyes did nothing if she could hear the audio, so she had adjusted her approach to avoiding the sound and still having eyes on the screen. Sucking in another deep breath, Megumi could feel tension building and slowly reached up to cover her ears.
She anticipated another couple of seconds before the actual scare, but jumped when she felt Ryo place his arm around her shoulders and press her closer to his side. Her eyes widened and she looked up to see him peering at her as he adjusted his grip. She was pulled flush against his side and his arm lay curled around her shoulders. She was distracted for just a second, but that was enough to miss the warning signs of the scare. She yelped and clapped her hands painfully over her ears at the loud bang from the screen.
From behind them she heard Alice let out a shriek and from the corner of her eye, she saw Souma startle. She felt Ryo's chest rumble as he chuckled quietly and she had a feeling it was on her expense. Even if that was the case, she decided to forgive him since his arm remained around her shoulders even as the scene changed. His warm and steady presence was comforting in the darkness of the room, and she discreetly shifted closer to him. From the way he smirked down at her, face only half illuminated by the screen light, he had noticed. Instead of saying anything, he merely draped half of his blanket over Megumi's lap and leaned back to enjoy the movie.
True to his word, Ryo offered his hand for her to hold as the movie got progressively scarier and Megumi found that clenching his hand made it easier to get through the scares. His arm never once left her shoulders, but every time the scenes got too gore-y, he would reach up and cover her eyes while she blocked off her ears. She was immensely grateful for him then and promised herself to bake him another brownie soon.
At one point almost half-way through the movie, he leaned down and whispered in her ear, "That one guy kind of looks like Yukihira." He inclined his head at a close up of one of the more airheaded characters, and Megumi almost snorted at the comparison.
After that she couldn't unsee it and had to fight not to burst out laughing at his occasional comments, just loud enough for her to hear. Thank god the speakers in the media room were so loud, otherwise their friends would have been disturbed by his whispered warnings of 'No Yukihira, don't go down the stairs' or 'Put the locket down Yukihira, didn't your father teach not to touch cursed jewelry?'. Ryo kept up his commentary almost to the end of the movie and Megumi was sufficiently distracted, though she still tensed from time to time.
Finally, the credits started rolling and she breathed a sigh of relief when the lights turned back on. Instantly chatter broke out among them as they all shared their thoughts.
"See that wasn't so bad." Ryo said and finally removed his arm from her shoulder, ending their side-hug. No longer feeling jittery, Megumi stretched out her legs that had been folded under her until now. "I don't even know how much of it I actually watched." She admitted sheepishly.
"Hm, it's a good thing Yukihira survived." Ryo whispered and this time Megumi couldn't hold back her laughter. Ryo patted her head again and it was then she realized how much they had been touching for the past two hours. She felt her face grow hot, but not nearly as much as she would normally have. In less than a week she had grown used to Ryo's presence, and she no longer felt as shy or awkward in close proximity to him.
"Ooh, what are you two whispering about?" Alice's face popped up right next to Megumi, causing her to jump once more. "Nothing!" She hurriedly replied, trying to calm her racing heart. She really couldn't let down her guard around Alice.
"Is that so?" Alice hummed thoughtfully, but got distracted by something Hayama said about the movie. Ryo and Megumi chose to get off the floor and stretch their legs, when Souma came up to them. "That was pretty good, huh?" He asked as he finished the rest of his finger food. "Though I enjoyed the food more than the movie."
"It wasn't terrible." Ryo conceded. He started picking up the blankets and pillows that were scattered around the floor and Megumi helped out, returning the things to their respective baskets and handing them over to Ryo, who promptly left the room. Despite sitting on the floor for the better part of two hours, her back and legs didn't feel too stiff.
"How are you doing Tadokoro? Was it okay for you?" Souma asked her, genuine concern in his voice.
"Huh? Oh yeah, it was fine. I didn't get too scared." She laughed awkwardly, remembering the last time they had watched horror at the dorm and how she had been scared out of her mind. It had been way easier this time with Ryo distracting her.
"That's good," he sounded relieved. "I was worried there for a second, but when I saw you and Kurokiba all cuddled up, I figured you would be fine." Souma grinned and patted her back good-naturedly. Megumi sputtered something unintelligible at his phrasing. "I-"
"Yukihira-kun, how about that cook off we talked about yesterday?" Alice interrupted smoothly, once again appearing next to Megumi out of thin air. Souma brightened considerably at the challenge and forgot his previous conversation, all pumped up and ready to go. "You're on!" Megumi silently thanked Alice for swooping in, and she didn't miss the wink that was sent her way as Alice turned and led Yukihira out of the room.
Ryo returned just in time to overhear the word 'challenge', and as if a switch was flipped, he got fired up and promptly challenged Hayama to another battle. Hayama sighed, already having anticipated such a scenario, but agreed and followed the others out. Megumi wasn't surprised either when Ryo donned his bandana and declared war on his fellow chef.